A Dead Girl's Diary
by thelonelyapple
Summary: Alice and Bella are two (human) best friends. One day, Bella dies unexpectedly at her boyfriend, Edward's, house. Alice receives a diary that used to belong to Bella. The strange thing is that it claims that Edward is not human. Alice struggles to find out the truth, and discovers that Bella may not be actually dead, but a vampire. She tries to find Bella and unveils more secrets.
1. Chapter 1

I slowly exited the room and walked to my car, blinking tears away. _What a stupid way to die, _I thought as I drove away. Of course, I didn't mean any disrespect by that. But, seriously, choking on food? I don't think about death often, but Bella, my best friend, deserved much better than this. Now that I think about it, she should have married Edward, her boyfriend, and lived a long, happy life with him and have died peacefully in her sleep after she got old.

_Edward,_ I remembered. He must be really messed up about and Bella had only dated for about a year, but it was obvious to anyone that they truly loved each other. Edward had always been the quiet one at our lunch table, where he, Bella, and I sat with Mike, Angela, and Ben. It was clear that he only sat there because of Bella. I remembered how he used to sit before Bella arrived at the school, always alone at the table in the corner. And now, Bella had died right before his eyes, as she was at his house when she choked. I had heard from Angela that he, Dr. Cullen, and Mrs. Cullen had moved somewhere to be closer to the other children. Bella had told me that Edward had three other adopted siblings, whom I had never met because they were in college.

_I met them for the first time yesterday, _she had said one rainy Monday morning. _They're all so nice. There's Emmett, who's like the big brother I never had. Then there's Rosalie, who's the most beautiful person I have ever met. I don't think she liked me too much though...and there's Jasper. I didn't talk to him much, but he's very...influential. _

I sighed recalling the memory. I was at home now, and I went straight to my room. Bella wasn't the first loved one that was dead. My mother and my younger sister, Cynthia, had died last year in a car crash, and I was still struggling to cope. My father had immersed himself in his job after they died, so I didn't see him much, either. Bella was always the one I would go to when I needed advice or comfort. And now she's gone forever. I got into bed, and silently cried myself to sleep.

The next two weeks were dull. I stayed at home all the time except when I went to school, and then I went through it in a zombie-like state, not caring about the world around me. I still ate lunch with Mike, Angela, and Ben, but we sat in silence, grieving for Bella and missing Edward.

It was Saturday before I knew it. I wasn't even sure of the date, beyond caring. I wouldn't have even known it was Saturday if I knew I didn't have school. I was at home alone, and the doorbell rang. I went and opened it, not even checking to see who it was.

"Hey, Alice," greeted Charlie, his eyes red from crying, and his clothes rumpled. I was sure I looked similar. Usually, I wouldn't dare wear anything but a cute outfit complete with makeup and accessories, but this was the exception.

"Hi, Charlie," I said. He was struggling under the weight of a huge cardboard box. "Do you want to come in and put that down for a minute?"

"Actually," he said, "I'm just dropping this off. It's just some of Bella's books and other things. She would want you to have them."

"Um, okay," I responded. Bella's books were extremely precious to her. I wasn't sure if I deserved it.

_Better than letting anyone else have them, _I thought. Charlie put down the box and left. I somehow managed to drag the box upstairs to my room, as there was no way I could lift it with my small build.

The box stayed in the corner of my room for days. I was almost afraid to touch it. The box was like a constant reminder of Bella's death. Finally, after a week, I got the courage to lift up the cardboard flap. I peered inside, and laughed. In it were all of Bella's favorites. I picked up her worn copy of Wuthering Heights and lovingly stroked the cover before placing it on my desk. I went through all the familiar titles, because they had been on Bella's bookshelf for years. At the bottom was was a brown leather-bound book that was unfamiliar. I looked on the front and spine for a title, but there wasn't any. I opened it, and Bella's clumsy handwriting greeted me. I realized that it was a diary.

One name on the first page immediately jumped out at me- Jacob Black. It wasn't a name I'd heard before. I started reading. There was no "Dear Diary" or anything.

_Today, I went to First Beach with some friends and met an old family friend there- Jacob Black. He's the son of Billy Black, an old friend of Charlie's. There were some other boys with him, too. Lauren sneered and asked me where the Cullens were, like she was trying to provoke me. One boy, the biggest, more like a man, said that the Cullens didn't come there. Of course, I was curious. The way he had said it made it sound like the Cullens weren't allowed there. I tried to flirt with Jacob to trick it out of him, and it seemed to have worked. We took a walk along the beach and he told me stories- Quileute legends. I wasn't really paying attention to most, waiting for when he would mention the Cullens. Finally, he told me of the "cold ones"- pale, beautiful creatures that hunted humans for their blood- also known as vampires. He went on to explain how one coven claimed that they survived off the blood of animals, and meant no harm to humans. Then, he said that the Quileutes had a treaty with this coven, laying down land limits and a few rules. They agreed, and they lived peacefully with the Quileutes. I was confused about how this had anything to do with Edward, but then Jacob said that the Cullens were the coven he was talking about. I wasn't quite sure if it was true. Edward? A vampire? But the details had matched what I had observed about him. I went home and fell asleep, thinking about these things._

_I had the strangest dream. I don't remember much, but I do remember that I was trying to find the sun. Suddenly, Jacob appeared in front of me. He was pulling me away from the sun, telling me to run. I refused, and Jacob yelped and turned into a reddish-brown wolf right in front of me. Then, Edward walked into the area where we were. He seemed to be almost...glowing. He looked just like he did in real life, except now he had fangs. He beckoned me, but before I had the chance to respond, Jacob lunged for his throat. I woke up screaming. I had been scared, not for the wolf, but for Edward. _

_I couldn't go back to sleep, thinking about Jacob's story. I turned to a source for all information- the internet. Most of it was just stuff from movies or books, but I found something on a site called Vampires A-Z. It gave descriptions of hundreds of types of vampires. I thought about what I knew about Edward so far. He was abnormally strong and fast, as I had observed when he had saved me from Tyler's car, and his eyes changed color. That was pretty much it. _

_I scrolled through the types of vampires. There were many, but none of them matched my description perfectly. I came across one entry that stood out from the others- _

_Stregoni Benefici- An Italian vampire, said to be on the side of goodness, and a mortal enemy of all evil vampires. _

_Well, Edward didn't seem to be bad. He hadn't tried to hurt me, at least. _

_I realized this was stupid. Was I seriously searching up vampires? I decided to take a walk in the woods._

The entry ended abruptly there. I closed the diary. Edward, a vampire? Impossible. I was sure this was just a story or something Bella had written for fun.

But...was it? The way Bella's words flowed, made it seem so real. Bella was a horrible liar, and she didn't have it in her to write such a realistic fiction story.

But, of course, Edward wasn't a vampire. That was silly. I should've read more, but I needed to absorb what I had read.

I decided to do what Bella did, use the Internet. I opened the laptop on my white desk and sat down in the purple chair.

I opened up a search engine and studied the diary. First, I needed to find if this Jacob Black was real. Bella had never mentioned him to me, nor had she talked about Billy Black.

I typed in 'Jacob Black Washington.' As expected, a whole page of results came up. I found a link leading to a Facebook profile. I clicked on it and studied the profile picture. There was a very tall boy smiling happily in front of a little red house. I scrolled through his posts. Most were of him and his friends. I stopped at one. There was a picture of him and Bella, making funny faces at the camera. I recognized the place as Bella's kitchen. According to the date, it was taken last year. So this was proof that there was, indeed, a Jacob Black, and he did know Bella.

I opened a new tab and searched up 'Vampires A-Z.' The top link was for a website called that. I clicked on it and explored the site a bit. It seemed to be the same one Bella described.

Was that enough proof for me? I wasn't sure. What I guessed was that Jacob had told Bella a legend about the cold ones, but hadn't mentioned the Cullens at all. Bella, interested by his story, went to find out more about vampires. She had come across this site and came up with the idea of making Edward a vampire in her story.

Right?


	2. Chapter 2

I jerked up in bed. My room was pitch-black. I had had a nightmare with Edward in it. He had his mouth open, fangs poised near Bella's throat. I had screamed and tried to stop him, but I had been too late. I saw him suck the life out of her as she lay limp in his arms.

Despite my wild dream, one thing jumped out at me: could this have been how Bella had died?

I quickly got rid of that thought. Edward was not a vampire, I told myself once again.

I couldn't go back to sleep now, though. I got up and peered out the window. Though it was only 5:30, my dad's car was gone, just like any other day of the week. After my mom and Cynthia had died, he had started leaving early and coming back late, going off to wherever he went.

I sighed, ran my hands through my short black hair, and looked around the room. My gaze landed on the diary.

I stared at it. Suddenly, I got an idea. I made breakfast and slowly ate it. When it was 9:30, I got in my car and drove to La Push.

I knew Embry Call, because his mom worked at the store and I would sometimes see him there. We hadn't really talked before, just simple greetings. But I knew he was friends with Jacob, according to Jacob's Facebook profile. I could ask Embry where Jacob lived and visit him, and confront him about the diary.

I opened the door to Mrs. Call's store. "Hello, Alice," she said, smiling.

"Hi, Mrs. Call," I greeted back. "Is Embry here?"

She looked mildly surprised. "Sure. He's in the back."

I thanked her and scurried off. He was exiting just as I was about to open the door, and we crashed into each other.

"Hey, sorry," he said, pulling me up. "Didn't see you there."

"It's okay," I said. "I need to ask you something super important."

"Sure," he said hesitantly, probably wondering why I was talking to him now.

"Do you know where Jacob Black lives?"

He looked surprised for a second before his expression changed to a nervous one. "I do. But he's not at home right now."

"When will he be back?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Probably not for a few months."

I frowned slightly at him. "And where did he go for this long?"

He avoided my gaze. "A vacation."

"Where?" I pushed.

"I don't know," he said again, though it was clear he did.

I knew I wasn't going to get anything more out of Embry. I thanked him and stalked away.

"Wait," he said, grabbing my arm as I started to exit. "Why do you want to know?"

"Reasons," I said vaguely and went away.

At home, I sat cross-legged on my bed and picked the diary up. I wondered if I should read more or not. The first part had given me nightmares. What would the rest do?

Suddenly, I saw myself in my mind reading it. I didn't look horrified or scared, just very interested in whatever she had written.

The vision disappeared. I silently counted in my head. That was the eleventh one this month. I had an unusual ability to sometimes see visions of the future. It wasn't big things, usually, just small and not far into the future. No one had known this except for my mother. She had encouraged me to keep track of when it happened, to see how often the visions occurred. Interestingly, they had increased as I grew older. It evened out when I was almost fourteen, but after Mom and Cynthia had died, the visions per month spiked up again. Last month, I had had eighteen visions, much different than before they had died, when the average was about seven.

I didn't tell my father about my ability for good reasons. Firstly, he wouldn't believe me. And if I did prove it to him, he would see it as a curse, not like a gift like my mom had.

I opened the diary, skipping past the part I had already read. I leaned back against the purple wall and began to read.

_I began to wonder if agreeing to go to Seattle with Edward was a mistake. I felt so confused about him. His emotions were everchanging, one day pretending I didn't exist, the next wanting to be friends. I knew Jacob's story was close to unbelievable, but I had always known Edward was anything but human. But I was still hesitant to believe that he was a vampire. So I decided that there was a possibility that he could be a "cold one," an enemy of the werewolf. _

_But if it was true, what would I do? That was harder to answer. I could always follow his advice and avoid him. But for some reason, the thought of staying away from Edward seemed impossible to me. I could not stay away from this strange boy. After all, he hadn't hurt me yet, so he couldn't be all bad…_

_The rest of the day passed in a swirl of chores. The next morning, I noticed that Edward was not at school. I felt disappointment, much more than I should have felt. Angela, Jessica, and I made plans to go to Port Angeles so they could shop for dresses. We went after school, and it felt good to leave Forks behind for a while, along with my other worries. _

_After we shopped, Ang and Jess decided to walk by the beach before we would eat dinner. I decided to go hunt for a bookstore instead. _

_As I was unfamiliar with the town, it took a while before I found a store, but it definitely was not what I was looking for. I continued walking. The sun was starting to set. _

_I noticed four men who were near me, dressed in ratty clothing. One of them called out a greeting to me, and I responded- an automatic reaction. I went on. _

_Later, I noticed that they were following me. My heart pounded as I walked faster, hoping to lose them. Soon, they slowed down, maybe noticing that they had scared me. In my rush to avoid them, I hadn't noticed that two members of their group was missing. _

_I rounded a corner, and stopped. The two other men were casually there, waiting for me. I realized they hadn't been chasing me, but surrounding me. _

_I quickly skimmed through basic self-defense in my head. Besides fighting, my only other options were to scream or run. Running wouldn't get me very far with my clumsiness, and there was no one to hear me scream. _

_Suddenly, a silver car zoomed towards us. I jumped in front- I recognized this car. _

_Edward stopped and told me to get in, which I did gladly. He slammed down the pedal and we went off. He seemed to be mad...no, not just mad, furious. _

_I wondered how he had known where I was. He drove me to La Bella Italia, the place where I was supposed to meet my friends. _

Once again, there was an abrupt stop to the entry. Just like Bella, I was wondering how Edward had known where she was. And Bella had never told me about these four men who had tried to hurt her. I remember I had unfortunately been sick the day Jess, Ang, and Bella invited me to go with them, otherwise I would've been there. I would never miss a shopping trip.

I guess I would have to find out what happened next.


	3. Chapter 3

As I was just turning the page, I heard the doorbell ring. "Coming!" I screamed and threw the diary on the bed before walking over.

When I opened the door, I was greeted by none other than a drenched, shirtless Embry. "Alice," he said.

I stared at him in surprise.

"Can I...come in?" he asked, blinking against the raindrops.

"Uh, yeah, sure," I said. He stepped inside.

"Look, Alice. I need to know why you wanted to see Jake," he said.

I tilted my chin up. "That's none of your business."

He huffed. "Listen. I really, really need to know."

"Why?"

"Because…" he paused. "I feel like this has something to do with Bella's...death." I noticed he had hesitated before saying 'death'.

"Maybe it does," I said to him. "So?"

He bit his lip and avoided my gaze.

"You know something," I accused. "You know and you're not telling me."

"I can't," he said. "Listen, I have no idea how well you knew Bella, but-"

"She was my best friend!" I cut him off. "I knew her better than you do, that's for sure."

He backtracked. "No, that's not what I meant."

I threw my hands up in frustration. "Then, please, tell me what you do mean, because I have no idea!"

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Just, please, tell me why you want to see Jake. I know you don't know him."

I was going to tell him to go away, when I stopped. Maybe, if I told him a bit, Embry could help me. "Because...I think Bella was hiding something from everyone else." Even if Edward wasn't really a vampire, why would she feel the need to write about him being one? Something was definitely up.

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. She wrote about Edward being…" I stopped myself. Luckily, I hadn't completed my sentence. Still, I knew I had let too much slip.

He seemed to choke. "Wait...so she...you…"

"You know what she said, don't you?" I said angrily.

He composed himself. "No, I don't," he calmly said.

"You're a horrible liar, Embry Call," I said.

"Maybe I do, then," he shrugged. "Regardless, I can't help you. I wish I could. Sorry."

I leaned back on the couch and closed my eyes. I heard him leave and close the door behind him.

I didn't find it scary that Embry had known. He was, after all, a part of the tribe. He was probably one of the bigger believers of the legends about the Cullens being vampires. But that would mean that Jacob did mention the Cullens when telling Bella about vampires.

I stalked back upstairs, opened the diary, and started reading.

_Jessica and Angela were just leaving when we arrived. Edward told them that he would buy me dinner then drive me home. And so they left, and we were alone. _

_We went inside, and the waitress tried to flirt with him. Badly. _

_Edward asked if I was okay. I assured him I was- after all, I felt safe with him. _

_I told him I had noticed something else about him- when his eyes were gold, he was a much better mood than when they were black. He was interested in my theory about that. I told him I would tell him later. _

_I asked, indirectly, if he could read minds. He confirmed that, but told me that he couldn't read my mind. I found that interesting. Why me? _

_He finally explained why he was in Port Angeles. He was protecting me, he said, but also reminded me that he was dangerous, too. _

_I believed that Edward was dangerous, not bad. He hadn't hurt me or anyone else as far as I knew._

_On the way back, he explained more about the mind reading, how he could tell one mental voice from the thousands of others. _

_Finally, I told him my theory- the on about him being a vampire. He took it surprisingly well, except for when I told him it didn't matter to me. _

_He seemed angry and yelled about how it should matter, about how he could kill me. _

_He finally cooled down. He confirmed that he did hunt animals instead of humans. I asked why. He explained that he didn't want to be a monster. _

_He dropped me home and left. _

The entry ended there. I thought about one thing that had stood out to me in Bella's words- her claim about Edward being a mind reader. It had always seemed like he knew what everyone was thinking in an eerie way. He himself had once said that he was exceptionally good at reading people. Could it really have been something more?


	4. Chapter 4

If Edward was a mind reader, then did that mean all other vampires were, too? I was, frankly, completely confused by all this. I wasn't prepared to say that Edward was a vampire, but it was getting to be more and more likely with each entry.

The doorbell rang, and I got up and answered. It was Embry again, this time with a man who seemed somewhat familiar. Embry's expression was apologetic, while the man showed no emotion. I finally remembered his name- Sam Uley. What was he doing here?

"Can I help you?" I said to them.

"Let me see the diary," said Sam.

I crossed my arms. "No."

He looked angry. "Please."

"No," I said.

"Sam," said Embry. "Even if she knows, then what could we do about it? I agree that Bella told Alice about vampires and our kind, breaking the treaty. But is it still in place?"

Their kind?

"The treaty is always in place," Sam growled.

"Sam, I know you. You wouldn't attack the Cullens, would you? They're our allies," protested Embry. "And what about Nessie? We can't attack her. You know what will happen to Jake if she gets hurt or killed."

Who was Nessie? And why did she matter so much to Jacob? Why were the Cullens allied with the Quileutes if they hated the Cullens? So many questions swirled around in my head.

"Look," I said. "Can someone please just explain to me what's going on?"

"No," said Sam firmly. "Embry, we should leave now. But be warned, Alice Brandon, we will be watching you." He turned and left. Embry smiled weakly at me and followed Sam.

I closed the door. Sam and Embry had just confused me even more. And what Sam said about them "watching me?"

My only source for answers now was the diary. I skipped up the stairs to my room and flipped to the page I was on.

_That night, I realized three things. Firstly, Edward was a vampire. And he wanted my blood- badly. And finally, the thing that I was most reluctant to admit- I was hopelessly in love with him. _

_He picked me up for school the next morning, which excited me much more than it should have. Of course, Jessica wanted to know all the details about the previous night's events. Edward warned me and told me that he would be listening, against my protests. When Jessica asked me, I tried to be as vague as possible. Still, she pressed on, asking how much I liked Edward. I told her that I cared for him much more than he cared for me. Finally, the questions stopped. _

_At lunch, I sat with Edward. Curious, I asked him what would happen if he ate food. He took a bite and told me it was like eating dirt. _

_He asked me if I really thought that I cared for him more than he cared for me. I told him I did really think that. He said I was wrong, and asked why I thought that. I explained how I was just an ordinary human girl, and he was...him. _

_He replied and said that I didn't see myself very clearly. Soon, the topic changed and we started talking about the Seattle trip. He asked if I wanted to spend the day with him, and that he would show me what happened to his kind in the sun. _

_We started talking about how he fed. Apparently, he and Emmett had gone to Goat Rocks last week to hunt bears. I imagined Edward hunting, his teeth sinking into the fur and flesh of a giant grizzly. I had to admit, it scared me a little, mesmerizing as it was. _

_After school, I asked if I could see him hunt. He immediately said no. He explained that while his kind hunted, they followed their senses more than their minds, and that if he were to lose control around me in that way, death was surely in my future. _

_All of the next day, he asked me questions. About my favorites, about Renee, about Arizona...the list went on. _

_When he dropped me home, I realized we had unexpected guests- Jacob and Billy. I hoped, more than anything, that Billy had not seen who was in the car with me. Unfortunately, the answer was clear in his eyes- he did see, and he believed in the legends, unlike Jacob. _

The entry stopped. This one had touched a topic that hadn't been mentioned before- Edward's hunting habits. Of course, he would use his fangs, like any other vampire. That is, if he was one. And Bella had said that Edward would show her what happened to him in the sun...from what I knew on traditional vampires, they turned into ash. But of course, Edward wouldn't agree to show Bella if that was what would happen.

With Bella's diary entries and Embry's and Sam's cryptic conversation, I was starting to believe in this much more than I should. I shuddered as I realized something...could there really have been vampires living in Forks?


	5. Chapter 5

I stared blankly at the diary. There had to be someone who knew about it and could tell me more. If only Bella were alive, and I could ask her…

Then it struck me. It was so obvious I had wondered how I hadn't seen it before.

Charlie.

I wasn't sure if Bella had told Charlie anything, but he might know. I ran down the stairs to the landline, and dialed the chief's number. I glanced out the window, then at the clock. It was already past nine PM. I hope it wasn't too late to call.

Charlie picked up on the seventh ring. "Hello?" he said gruffly.

"Hey, Charlie," I said. "It's Alice."

"Oh, hi, Alice," he said. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, you?" I said hurriedly, wanting to get to the point.

"Good, good. Did you need something?"

"Yes, I did, actually," I said. "Remember when you gave me that box with Bella's books in it?"

There was a slight pause. "Yeah."

"Did you notice a diary?" I asked. "A brown one? It was Bella's, and I wasn't sure if you knew about it…"

"Oh!" he said. "Yeah, I found that while packing that box. I didn't want to invade Bella's privacy, so I didn't read it, but I wasn't meaning to put in the box."

"Oh," I said. "Well, did Bella ever mention anything about…" About what?

"About?" pressed Charlie.

"Never mind," I said. "I was just wondering if I could keep the diary? It just...reminds me of her."

"Sure," said Charlie after a pause.

"Thanks," I said, and hung up.

I had purposely not mentioned what Bella had written to Charlie. It was unlikely he knew, anyway. There was no way he would let his only daughter date a vampire. I turned back to the diary.

_Lucky for me, Billy didn't say anything to Charlie. I was safe- for now. _

_The next evening, I told Charlie I had changed my mind about going to Seattle. Of course, I hadn't really. I assured Charlie I would be fine, and that he should continue with his fishing plans. _

_Finally, Saturday morning arrived. As planned, Edward came to pick me up. He wouldn't tell me where we were going, and I started to get nervous as he told me we were hiking, not even on the trail. _

_Soon, we reached the most beautiful place I'd ever seen. It was a meadow, perfectly round, covered with wildflowers. The sun and nearby creek added to its beauty. _

_Edward stepped out into the sun, and I was at a loss of words. His skin reflected the light, like a diamond, throwing sparkling light everywhere. _

_He asked if I was afraid of him, and I said no more than usual. He said he wanted to know what I was thinking, seeing him like this. I told him that I wished that I wasn't afraid. _

_Then, something changed in Edward. He got up and showed me what he was truly capable of. His strength, his speed, his power…_

_He told me that he didn't want to hurt me. That he wouldn't hurt me, no matter what. That he should leave, but he couldn't. This made me happier than it should have. _

_We discussed his thirst for my blood, how it was like wine compared to water to an alcoholic. _

_He told me how he had left Forks to Alaska to escape it, the thirsty monster trying to escape. But I knew Edward wouldn't run away. He returned, fighting the thirst, getting to know me. And then...he realized that I meant more to him than I should. That I was the most important thing to him, ever. I admitted my feelings for him, too, embarrassed by the turn our conversation had taken. _

_We left the enchanting little meadow, and he showed me how he traveled through the forest. As I clung to his back, piggyback style, he dashed through the trees at a speed far beyond a normal human's. _

My mind flicked back to a memory. Bella had been sitting next to me in Spanish, and she had told me about how she and Edward had gone to some meadow...I was positive she was referring to this one, by the dreamy way she had described it, as if it were a place in a fairytale.

I didn't sleep well that night, too busy trying to wrap my head around what I had read. It was past midnight when I finally fell asleep. As I woke up the next morning, I reached for the diary, anxious to read more. I realized it was a lot colder in my room than it should have been, but I didn't pay attention. As I saw it wasn't on my desk, where I had left it, I realized one thing.

The diary was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

There was no doubt in my mind as to who had taken the diary. It was obviously Sam and Embry. Sam had asked me for the diary earlier, and he wasn't going to stop until it was in his hands.

I would have liked to get in my car and drive to La Push right then, but it was one of those rare times when my father was home, and there was no way he'd let me leave.

I sighed in frustration. Tomorrow, I would get the diary back after school.

The next day, as I entered school, Ben Cheney caught up with me as I walked. "Hey," he said.

"Hi."

"Did you study a lot for finals this weekend?"

"What?" I said blankly.

"Finals," he said, looking at me strangely.

"Shit!" I exclaimed as I realized what he meant. With Bella's death and the diary, I had totally forgotten we had finals next week.

The rest of the week was spent cramming. I didn't find any time to go down to La Push.

Finally, when the school year was finally over, I drove to La Push, and stormed into Mrs. Call's store.

"Is Embry here?" I asked.

She shook her head. "You just missed him. He left to hang out with some friends."

I thanked her and continued to drive aimlessly around La Push. I was determined to get the diary back.

After an hour of driving around, I didn't see Sam or Embry. I parked on a random street, leaned back, and closed my eyes. I needed the diary. I would get it back no matter what. It was my only way of finding out more.

There was a tap on my window. I opened my eyes to see Embry and- in his hands- the diary. I jumped out of the car.

"Hi," he said.

"Can I have my diary back?"

"Bella's," he corrected.

"Whatever."

He handed it to me. "You're giving it away just like that?" I said, flipping through to make sure it was the right diary.

"Sam was the one who took it, not me," he said. "He's being paranoid. You should have it back."

"Thanks," I said hesitantly.

"But…" he said. I sighed. I knew there was a catch. "You can't tell anyone what it says. It's too dangerous, and I don't want you to get hurt."

I looked up at Embry. I could see the genuine concern in his expression. It made me feel guilty for all the times I had snapped at him.

"Who would hurt me?" I asked him.

His lips twitched, as if he wanted to tell me but couldn't. "People who don't want you to know about the Cullens," he said finally.

"So it's true?"

He just gave me a small smile. "Bye, Alice," he said, and jogged away.

I was going to call out for him to stop, but a new scene formed in front of my eyes.

It was just a quick flash, but I saw myself...swimming? I wasn't swimming in a pool, but in an ocean, with a determined expression on my face.

The vision blurred then faded. I frowned at what I had seen, but didn't make much of it.

I climbed back into the car and opened the diary to the next entry.

_Edward told me his story. He was born in Chicago in 1901, and was bitten and changed by Carlisle in 1918 while he was dying of the Spanish influenza. Then, Esme and Rosalie joined the two of them. Rosalie found Emmett, who was dying of a bear attack, while she went hunting, and brought him home for Carlisle to change. Jasper joined lastly, after his mate, Emma, had been killed. Jasper had special powers, too. According to Edward, he could manipulate emotions. _

_He also said that most of his kind were nomadic, only coming near humans to feed. His family could stay here in Forks because they didn't feed off humans and the clouds protected them from the sun. _

_Edward revealed that he came into my room every night and watched me sleep. I know I should have been angry, but I was actually flattered. _

_That night, Edward told me more about his family. He said that the Cullens hunt animals to feel more human. Also, according to Carlisle, all vampires brought their strongest traits into their second life. Edward and Jasper had powers beyond normal humans, which is why they now had powers beyond a normal vampire's. _

_The next day, Edward wanted me to meet his family. I was nervous- not because I was going to a house filled with vampires, but because I was afraid they wouldn't approve of me, the clumsy, average human. _

_The house was beautiful. It was graceful and old-fashioned, yet still timeless. I met Carlisle, Esme, and Jasper- Rosalie seemed to have taken a dislike to me, so she and Emmett stayed away. Of course, they weren't really in college like everyone thought, but Rosalie's clear disapproval hurt. _

_Edward assured me that it was because she was jealous of my humanity. I found it strange- I would've given anything to be a vampire. _

_He gave me a tour of the house, and we stopped in Carlisle's office. _

I slammed the diary shut. Bella had said she would've given anything to become a vampire. So could it be that she wasn't really dead? That Edward had transformed her?

I tried to quash this hope, but I couldn't. The chance that Bella could be alive, however small it was, was still there. She could be sitting in the Cullen mansion right now, living happily with them.

I gasped as I realized something. In the Cullen mansion...she could still be there.

I turned on the car. I was going to pay the big white house in the woods a visit.


	7. Chapter 7

I pulled up in front of the big white house and stopped. I had had a little trouble finding the house, which was off in the woods, but I had eventually gotten there.

I hopped out of the car and practically ran to the front door. That's when I stopped and realized the house looked abandoned, even from the outside. Not losing hope, I peeked in through the large window and saw the room through it empty.

I was dejected as I climbed back into the car. My hopes had soared for a moment, only to be crushed minutes later.

As I drove, staring at the road, I could've sworn I had seen an animal looking through the green trees. It had been dark gray, and it seemed to have been a large bear-like creature.

I shook my head and payed attention to the road. All this talk about vampires had left me in a superstitious mood. It had probably been nothing out there.

At home, I opened the diary again. There was no way I was letting it out of my sight again. Embry's concern about someone hurting me ran through my head again. I shook the thought away and continued reading.

_I learned that Carlisle had been born around the 1650s in London. Edward had told me that when Carlisle had realized what he had become, he had tried to destroy himself, disgusted with the monster he had become. He had tried drowning himself, starving to death, jumping off cliffs..._

_Obviously, none of his techniques had worked._

_He eventually realized that he could feed off of animals, instead of humans, and he felt happier about his newfound immortality. He spent his time quenching his thirst for knowledge, and ended up working as a doctor to save human lives. In Italy, he met a group of people, named Aro, Caius, and Marcus, who called themselves the Volturi. They tried to convince him to follow their kind's natural diet, human blood, and in contrast, he tried to get them to switch their diet. Later, Carlisle left them and continued his work as a doctor._

_He was working in the hospital in Chicago during the Spanish influenza. Lonely as he had been for centuries, he decided to make a companion and ended up changing Edward, who had been dying of the influenza in 1901._

_Edward told me that after a few decades of living with Carlisle, he had had sort of a rebellious phase. He was upset that Carlisle was trying to curb him from their natural diet, and went off on his own for a while. After a while, he realized that Carlisle was right and rejoined him._

_We ended up in Edward's room, and I got to see his impressive music collection._

_Soon, Jasper came in and casually said that there was a storm coming up, and if Edward wanted to play ball. The usually quiet vampire's words confused me, since I didn't see how a storm demanded a baseball game. _

_I found it funny that vampires would play baseball, as the sport was so normal. Edward said I'd understand why they needed a storm to play, and I anxiously awaited the game._

Carlisle's story had fascinated me. Who could've guessed the handsome doctor's dark past?

I didn't know why, but when Bella had mentioned the Volturi, it gave me a feeling of deep dread. I shook it off, telling myself it was silly.

And vampires playing baseball...it just seemed so bizarre. I was now confident that there was no way that Bella had made any of this up. I turned the page, anxious to continue reading.


	8. Chapter 8

Once I found the correct page, I started reading.

_Billy and Jacob were there when Edward dropped me home. Edward said that Billy had come to warn Charlie about him. Charlie wasn't at home, but Billy and Jake still came in. Billy sent Jacob to get something from the car, and then the conversation started. Billy said that he had noticed that I was spending a lot of time with the Cullens, and that he didn't think that was a good idea because they had a bad reputation on the reservation. I told him that they hadn't gone on the reservation, so the reputation couldn't be deserved. He seemed surprised that I knew this, and said I was very well informed about the Cullens. He asked if Charlie was well informed, too. He had found my weak spot, and I fumbled for a minute before I said that it was my business whether it was Charlie's business or not. Finally, he surrendered. _

_They left and Charlie eventually came home. I told him about Edward and how he was my boyfriend. He seemed surprised and a bit angry at first, but Edward came and acted charming, as always, and we soon left the house to join the Cullens as they played baseball. _

_I sat with Esme. She didn't play because she preferred to referee. I learned more about her, like how she had tried jumping off a cliff after losing her child, which is where Carlisle found and changed her._

_Seeing the Cullens play baseball was definitely a new experience. They were, of course, much faster and stronger than normal humans. Because they hit so hard, it made a deafening sound that blended in with the thunder, so any normal human wouldn't hear anything they didn't think they should._

_After a while, Carlisle said he heard three vampires coming towards us. Everyone was worried about the vampires, which were most likely not vegetarian. I was scared, too. _

_I stood very still next to Edward as they finally came. There were two males, one with black hair and the other blond, and a woman with bright red curls. The darker-haired man was named Laurent, the blond one James, and the female was Victoria. _

_Their eyes were a blood red, not the gold I had gotten so used to. I knew their eyes were a sign that they feasted on human blood._

_Carlisle invited the trio to the Cullen home to discuss their vegetarian diet which the strangers seemed so interested him. He told Edward, Emmett, and I to go back to the Jeep._

_Then, a light breeze ruffled my hair. The blond-haired vampire, named James, whipped towards me and Edward growled at him. I was terrified that James would attack and end up killing me right there._

_Edward and I left with Emmett, with luckily no one being attacked. Edward seemed furious as he drove. He said that we were getting out of Forks. I was confused and angry, and demanded to go home._

_I found out that James was a tracker, and he was determined to hunt me down and kill me._

_I came up with an idea. Edward would take me home and I would pretend I was upset and I'd tell Charlie that I wanted to go back to Phoenix and storm out of the house. We would make sure that James saw the scene play out, and he wouldn't hurt Charlie. Then Edward would take me wherever he wanted, where we would be safe._

_We decided that I would go to Phoenix after telling Charlie, because there was no way James would think that's where I actually would go. We also decided that Jasper and Esme would come with me to Phoenix and Edward would stay here for a few days so Charlie wouldn't suspect anything._

_I felt a strange kind of excitement, mixed with fear and anxiety, as out plan went into action._

Bella's plan was brilliant. Of course she'd know that James would never expect her to go to Phoenix. And though she didn't say it, I was almost positive that leaving Edward in Forks for a while was her idea, too.

I suddenly realized something. Could James have been the cause of Bella's death? I didn't know how old the diary was, but Bella had died about five and a half months ago at this point.

I was still hoping for my previous theory, which was that Edward had changed Bella and they were happily living together someplace. Right now, I wasn't sure which was more likely.

Feeling hatred at the blond tracker, I turned the page.


	9. Chapter 9

There was absolutely nothing there. Frantically, I flipped through the other pages.

All blank.

Angrily, I flipped to the last page. That was empty, too, but there was something taped to the back cover. I slowly peeled the tape off the crisp folded note.

I looked at it. Bella's handwriting still covered the sheet, but it seemed smoother, more elegant, not the messy scrawl I was so used to.

_As I write this with new eyes, I am blissfully happy. The transformation was extremely painful, more painful than Renesmee's violent birth. But I wouldn't trade my immortality or my daughter for anything, and I am glad it all worked out._

_I am still annoyed slightly by Jacob's imprinting, but I know that he'll protect her. I'm happy that he doesn't have to suffer anymore because of me._

_The Volturi will leave us alone for now. I have no doubt that Aro will come back with a bigger army, but I don't want to worry about that now._

_My shield power is actually useful, not like I thought it would be. In fact, I think I like it more than my super control._

_Our family has decided to move away from Portland to Isle Esme. It is far away from any humans, so we can live peacefully. Of course, we'll still have to visit the mainland to hunt occasionally._

_All is well._

_-Bella_

Bella was a vampire. She hadn't actually died. I was so happy and relieved at this fact that clutched the letter to my chest, as if letting it go would destroy Bella forever. Bella was alive!

But I hadn't missed one fact. Bella had mentioned she had given birth to a girl named Renesmee.

I wasn't sure if it was physically possible for a vampire to have kids. But if Bella was a vampire when Renesmee was born, it should be possible. After all, I wasn't an expert on vampire births.

Jacob had imprinted at this point, whatever that meant. I would have to try and find out.

And those mysterious Volturi had been mentioned again...it seems like they wouldn't bother the Cullens anymore, but would attack again in the future?

And Bella had some sort of shield power, along with some kind of super control. Control of what?

Bella had mentioned Isle Esme, too. According to the letter, the Cullens had lived in Portland before they decided to move there. I hadn't heard of Isle Esme, but I obviously recognized Esme's name in it.

An idea sprung on me, and I didn't know why I didn't come up with it the second I read the words. If I could find out where this island was, I could go visit Bella.

A smile crept into my lips. I was already much happier than I had been in months. Seeing Bella would truly be amazing.

After a while of research, I found out that Isle Esme was a small island off the coast of South America.

I beamed at my results. I was going to see Bella if it was the last thing I did.


End file.
